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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Do all men want it all the time?

163 replies

Justaquestionplease · 29/06/2026 08:32

DH and I have been together for 15 years...we probably have sex 1-3 times a week. Occasionally less, rarely more. I'd happily have more but I'm absolutely fine with this....he is also happy with this.

However all I seem to read on posts here, in the media and amongst other women is how their husbands want sex all the time and can't leave them alone. My DH doesn't want sex all the time. He is not constantly all over me. All these things I read now just make me insecure. Why doesn't he when all other women's husbands want sex all the time? Am I ugly? Is there something unattractive about me? Now I know objectively I'm not ugly... I'm conventionally attractive and still get chatted up by men if I go out. But I just can't help but wonder what is so wrong with me compared to all these other women who have rampant husbands? It really gnaws away at my self esteem.

So I guess my question is...do all men want sex all the time? If you're in a long term relationship is your DH more like mine? I feel like a freak as a woman.

OP posts:
FannyCraddocksPantry · 04/07/2026 15:03

Surely as a woman you know not all women are the same? If so, why would you think all men are the same?

Regardless 3 times a week is above average and you are being nuts - you absolutely need therapy, it is not normal to get so hyper fixated on sex as validation

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 04/07/2026 15:06

My DH is more like yours. He’s mostly up for it whenever I am. Would only not be if too tired or not feeling well. He likes to kiss and cuddle me in the e house without being lecherous lol

CountryGirlInTheCity · 04/07/2026 15:51

Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 13:52

So I asked him if he'd rather just live together as friends and I just go do what I want with other men...he said yes he doesn't care as long as he can stop listening to me moan. I mean imagine he'd actually rather another man has sex with me then just do it with me. That hurts

You’re pushing him away when you say these things that (I assume) you don’t really mean.

DH and I have been married for 34 years and have probably been through every permutation when it comes to who wants what. Both wanting it all times of day and night (early years!) him wanting it more often than me; me wanting it more often than him; both too exhausted with little ones to be that bothered at all; one or other of us ill therefore not on the cards…and so on. We now seem to be in a happy zone of both wanting it about the same frequency with the odd week of nothing or more than that.

What I do know is that none of the above had any bearing on how we felt about each other. We’ve been blessed with a very strong marriage and we’re still nuts about each other all these years on. Negotiating each person’s different wants has taken work and hasn’t been without friction from time to time, but the reasons for one or other of us wanting less than the other had never been about how attractive we found each other. It’s been about tiredness, having young children, stress at work, troublesome hormones, aches and pains, having teenagers knocking around the place at all hours, a stressful house move, feeling a bit out of shape and therefore not feeling great about ourselves, not having enough time together…..and so on. Again, NOT about how attractive we found the other person.

When I say you’re pushing your DH away I mean this: In provoking him into saying you can go off and be unfaithful you are trying to shock him into giving you more sex. Is that really what you want? Sex where he feels under duress? I think your tactics are more likely to result in less sex overall because there’s nothing more unattractive than feeling pushed and goaded into intimacy. Bluntly, it’s not an attractive feature and regardless of how beautiful you are (and I’m sure he thinks you are) being unkind and pushing him into a corner is going to make him retreat from you.

Like so many others have said, men are people not machines. There will be any number of reasons why he wants sex at the rate he does. The least likely to be ‘DW is unattractive so I only want sex three times a week’ - that sounds bonkers when you see it written down!

You could ask him about frequency of sex and what plays into wanting more or less but I strongly imagine the answer will boil down to ‘that’s just how often I feel like it at the moment’.

Finally, please remember that things change in this area over the course of a long marriage. You could well be in a position someday where you want it less than him. How would you feel if he behaved to you how you are behaving now? Because it doesn’t sound very pleasant to be on the end of all this emotional blackmail and manipulation.

Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 17:37

CountryGirlInTheCity · 04/07/2026 15:51

You’re pushing him away when you say these things that (I assume) you don’t really mean.

DH and I have been married for 34 years and have probably been through every permutation when it comes to who wants what. Both wanting it all times of day and night (early years!) him wanting it more often than me; me wanting it more often than him; both too exhausted with little ones to be that bothered at all; one or other of us ill therefore not on the cards…and so on. We now seem to be in a happy zone of both wanting it about the same frequency with the odd week of nothing or more than that.

What I do know is that none of the above had any bearing on how we felt about each other. We’ve been blessed with a very strong marriage and we’re still nuts about each other all these years on. Negotiating each person’s different wants has taken work and hasn’t been without friction from time to time, but the reasons for one or other of us wanting less than the other had never been about how attractive we found each other. It’s been about tiredness, having young children, stress at work, troublesome hormones, aches and pains, having teenagers knocking around the place at all hours, a stressful house move, feeling a bit out of shape and therefore not feeling great about ourselves, not having enough time together…..and so on. Again, NOT about how attractive we found the other person.

When I say you’re pushing your DH away I mean this: In provoking him into saying you can go off and be unfaithful you are trying to shock him into giving you more sex. Is that really what you want? Sex where he feels under duress? I think your tactics are more likely to result in less sex overall because there’s nothing more unattractive than feeling pushed and goaded into intimacy. Bluntly, it’s not an attractive feature and regardless of how beautiful you are (and I’m sure he thinks you are) being unkind and pushing him into a corner is going to make him retreat from you.

Like so many others have said, men are people not machines. There will be any number of reasons why he wants sex at the rate he does. The least likely to be ‘DW is unattractive so I only want sex three times a week’ - that sounds bonkers when you see it written down!

You could ask him about frequency of sex and what plays into wanting more or less but I strongly imagine the answer will boil down to ‘that’s just how often I feel like it at the moment’.

Finally, please remember that things change in this area over the course of a long marriage. You could well be in a position someday where you want it less than him. How would you feel if he behaved to you how you are behaving now? Because it doesn’t sound very pleasant to be on the end of all this emotional blackmail and manipulation.

I genuinely appreciate your post. It's probably what the rational side of me would think. But ..I suppose my issue is I don't want to be with a man whose sex drive I have to tip toe around in case he's stressed or not in the mood. It's a huge turn off...I literally just want a man in my life who desires me and is always up for it. You're right I don't want him to have sex with me because he's under duress. I don't want pity sex. I want him to fit the stereo type of the rampant always up for it man. I've met plenty of them. Why oh why did I settle down with one who can take it or leave it.

OP posts:
Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 17:40

I left for work the other day and he came to the front door to say goodbye to me. I turned round and snapped at him...bye, sorry I'm such an ugly bitch. He just ignored me

OP posts:
FannyCraddocksPantry · 04/07/2026 17:43

Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 17:40

I left for work the other day and he came to the front door to say goodbye to me. I turned round and snapped at him...bye, sorry I'm such an ugly bitch. He just ignored me

This has got to be a wind up

Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 17:44

FannyCraddocksPantry · 04/07/2026 17:43

This has got to be a wind up

Sadly no

OP posts:
Contrarymary30 · 04/07/2026 17:47

Justaquestionplease · 29/06/2026 08:38

Where did you assume my DH rarely wants sex and rejects my advances. We do have sex and he doesn't reject my advances.

Do you think 1-3,times a week is rarely wanting sex?

But yeah thanks for making me feel worse

This is a strange response to someone who has taken the time to reply to you .

GreyCarpet · 04/07/2026 17:48

Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 17:40

I left for work the other day and he came to the front door to say goodbye to me. I turned round and snapped at him...bye, sorry I'm such an ugly bitch. He just ignored me

Of course he ignored you.

Screamingabdabz · 04/07/2026 17:55

Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 17:40

I left for work the other day and he came to the front door to say goodbye to me. I turned round and snapped at him...bye, sorry I'm such an ugly bitch. He just ignored me

Jeez, if the neediness doesn’t kill it, the batshit behaviour will. I feel sorry for your husband. You’re using your sex life as some sort of narcissistic beauty gauge. It reminds me of the queen in Snow White constantly asking “who is the fairest of them all…?”

You need to get a grip.

LastOnePlease · 04/07/2026 17:56

Anecdotally, I am hearing more and more from friends that their husbands are less interested in sex than they are. Many seem to have low libidos and issues with low testosterone are common. It can create a lot of friction actually when woman are experience higher sex drives as they come out of the fog of raising small children or begin taking supplemental hormones.

I would be very interested in wider research about this actually. I think it’s more common that people admit because as a woman, it can feel very shameful if your husband doesn’t want you sexually or has no desire for sex. Like you’ve done something wrong or there’s something wrong with you and so those woman are less likely to share than those sharing stories of how wanted they are.

LastOnePlease · 04/07/2026 18:02

OP you sound unwell. Is there something else going on in your life? You seem very hyper fixated on this in a way that isn’t normal.

i imagine your husband finds your behaviour very emasculating. Surely you’d be better to give him some space to feel desire himself and take the lead? Berating him and punishing him is not going to create desire. Desire can be forced, it needs space.

You'd be better off focusing on yourself, taking up more hobbies etc so that your husband has space to miss you. Right now it sounds like you’re suffocating him.

Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 18:06

LastOnePlease · 04/07/2026 17:56

Anecdotally, I am hearing more and more from friends that their husbands are less interested in sex than they are. Many seem to have low libidos and issues with low testosterone are common. It can create a lot of friction actually when woman are experience higher sex drives as they come out of the fog of raising small children or begin taking supplemental hormones.

I would be very interested in wider research about this actually. I think it’s more common that people admit because as a woman, it can feel very shameful if your husband doesn’t want you sexually or has no desire for sex. Like you’ve done something wrong or there’s something wrong with you and so those woman are less likely to share than those sharing stories of how wanted they are.

Thank you...yes I do feel ashamed he doesn't seem to want me that much

OP posts:
Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 18:10

LastOnePlease · 04/07/2026 18:02

OP you sound unwell. Is there something else going on in your life? You seem very hyper fixated on this in a way that isn’t normal.

i imagine your husband finds your behaviour very emasculating. Surely you’d be better to give him some space to feel desire himself and take the lead? Berating him and punishing him is not going to create desire. Desire can be forced, it needs space.

You'd be better off focusing on yourself, taking up more hobbies etc so that your husband has space to miss you. Right now it sounds like you’re suffocating him.

No truthfully I don't feel well at all

OP posts:
NovemberMorn · 04/07/2026 18:14

OP, if you are genuine you need help to face the fact that the more desperate and needy you act, the less your husband will want sex, it's a big turn-off for anyone, man or woman, to be pestered, mithered, cajoled and manipulated all the time....and that's exactly what you are doing.
I can see your three times a week gradually getting less and less unless you do something about your constant need to feel attractive.

GasperyJacquesRoberts · 04/07/2026 18:18

Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 17:40

I left for work the other day and he came to the front door to say goodbye to me. I turned round and snapped at him...bye, sorry I'm such an ugly bitch. He just ignored me

You should really be apologising for being so passive-aggressively awful to him.

TheIdlerReturns · 04/07/2026 18:30

Stop trying so flippin hard. You're pushing him away. He's already told you he's happy for you to look elsewhere if you'd just shut up about it. It does sound like issues with self esteem. I worry about how fixated on sex you are. Sometimes sexual abuse as a child means growing up lacking boundaries and becoming over-sexualised. This may not relate to you, of course, but you sound more in need of therapy than having a high sex drive.

Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 18:39

TheIdlerReturns · 04/07/2026 18:30

Stop trying so flippin hard. You're pushing him away. He's already told you he's happy for you to look elsewhere if you'd just shut up about it. It does sound like issues with self esteem. I worry about how fixated on sex you are. Sometimes sexual abuse as a child means growing up lacking boundaries and becoming over-sexualised. This may not relate to you, of course, but you sound more in need of therapy than having a high sex drive.

No I've never been abused.

OP posts:
Isitsixoclockalready · 04/07/2026 18:43

OP, have you considered counselling? It might help deal with underlying issues driving this. Clearly men have mixed drives just as women do and a desire for frequent sex doesn't correlate necessarily with love/attraction for the partner.

inkgirl · 04/07/2026 18:46

My partner dosent want sex all the time, he is a tease though and loves to tease me but as he said a good relationship isnt all about sex. We probably have sex 2 maybe 3 times a week sometimes just the once. We both could have more but we dont base our relationship on it.

CountryGirlInTheCity · 04/07/2026 18:57

Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 18:10

No truthfully I don't feel well at all

OP how long has this feeling been going on? How long have you been linking frequency of sex directly to your attractiveness? Is it a new thing or when you look back have you always felt the same?

How old are you and what is your family situation?

I don’t tend to put everything down to peri menopause but peri can lead to a) a surge in libido that makes you feel like a teenage boy and b) a period of reflection where you take a new look at who you are and what your life is. It’s quite unnerving. Could this be you or am I way off beam?

category12 · 04/07/2026 19:10

.I literally just want a man in my life who desires me and is always up for it.

But what happens if that changes? You might meet someone who matches your sex drive initially but a life change happens and you're back in the same situation.

Anyway ...

You've obviously not happy with your present partner.

Stop being spiteful towards him and pressuring him about sex.

Break up with him instead.

Get your mental health sorted out and then consider dating again.

Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 19:34

I don’t tend to put everything down to peri menopause but peri can lead to a) a surge in libido that makes you feel like a teenage boy and b) a period of reflection where you take a new look at who you are and what your life is. It’s quite unnerving. Could this be you or am I way off beam

Yes to both of these.

OP posts:
CoffeeCakeAndALattePlease · 04/07/2026 19:44

We usually have sex once or twice a week, been together 15 years.

I think we’d ideally both want a little more but with work, kids, tiredness etc it can be difficult to make time.

Neither of us is ever nagging the other, we just know when we’re able to or not, and understand when the other isn’t up for it.

CountryGirlInTheCity · 04/07/2026 20:43

Justaquestionplease · 04/07/2026 19:34

I don’t tend to put everything down to peri menopause but peri can lead to a) a surge in libido that makes you feel like a teenage boy and b) a period of reflection where you take a new look at who you are and what your life is. It’s quite unnerving. Could this be you or am I way off beam

Yes to both of these.

In which case I urge you strongly to not blow up your relationship over this. I think you will regret it. Honestly, peri can make you feel completely unlike your former self. My lovely DH didn’t know what had hit him when I was going through it because I was tearful, paranoid, angry and very unreasonable. It took him months of calmly listening, trying to understand and reassuring me that he was with me through it all before we found an equilibrium. I also started on HRT and vitamin d which made a huge difference.

The increased libido coupled with the introspection and self doubt can make for a toxic combination if you don’t recognise it for what it is.

You need to get your head around the fact that the assumptions you’re making about your DH are all made up by you and then talk to him without accusation, asking him to help you walk through this tricky time. I promise you that with some time and the right support things will look very different in a few months time.